Bottle filler and capper apparatus



Jan. 9, 1940;

c. A. NAMUR Er AL BOTTLE FILLER AND A,(JAIPER APPARATUS Filed Nov, 4, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 III- Iflullmm ...-Jl... I l r. m w a 11 J ..-HL ifw21-, a :L wa Il Jan- 9, 1940- c. A. NAMUR er AL' BOTTLE FILLER AND CAPPER APPARATUS Filed Nov. 4, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 J5 Iul'l A 17 "Il 16 JH Patented Jan'. 9, 1940 f ...2.186,651. BorrLEf'LnER-f AND CAPPR APPARATUS.

'Carl- A. Namur and A,Charles Anderson, Ken# f' l osha, Wis.,assignorsjjto Specialty Brass Company, Kenosha, Wis., a.. corporation/of Wisconsin Appiieation'november 4, 1936-,y seriaiLNm- 109.11625 o e Y y 6.,-.Claims. e This invention relates tov apparatus for` use e `in vfilling and capping bottles` and` other containers,fand involves particularlyatype ofr mech-v Nanismsuitablewfor controlling the movement of bottles as theyare Abeing lled and-capped. TheY invention isfespeciall-y adapted? for useY in con-k nection with thellingandcapping of milk botl tles', but. `may be used in-otherconnections. lAn objectof vthe invention is to provide rotary 10 conveyor mechanism in which rthe bottles-may be: supportedk and conveyed -in interrupted vrotation as theyarle bein'g'llz'e'dv andv capped.

, Another object is toprovide mechanism by which 1 ther` 4bottles may be` rotated "and raised at 15-fcertain irftervals-in their rotation to makek successive contact With'fillerfandfca'pperl mechanisms;

A vfurther `object is -to -provide-conveycr -mecha' 1 msm-which may be -easilyladapted' to accommoe date'b'ottles or containers-of(different lheights'and edi-sizes.-4 Otherobjectsand advantages Will appear as thespecication "proceeds: y 1

-A- preferred embodiment of the` invention "is illustrated theaccompanying drawings in Which-1 Y Fig., 1 -is at view in front elevation of the=` device.; Eig.. 2,y alvievvA 4partly insection of the-cone y veyor mechanism and the supporting platforn-r;v the section.. being .taken asindicated fat line/2A ot-Eig';;-l'; Eigr 3. a plan vievvbfthe tabl'ef'and its 39f.lmountingr line 2- of this ligure-indicating the planeothe section-.in` Fig. 2; FigAt-afragmen- Y tary View shownginlsectionathe,position of4 the-A table and pin whenadjusted Afor medium sizedn e bottles, thesection being taken asfindicated,iat'` 35'flline 4 ofvlig. 3; vr,ar1d,Eg..-5, ,airagmentary view similarlto Fig'. 4,,but showing the table and pin after adjustment to accommodatesmall sized bottles, thefsection being taken as indicated at line 5of Fig. 3.

40. As illustrated, A designatesv a frame; Bacam Y member; C, a table: and means for mounting l same; and D', gear mechanism for rotating `table C,=

TheA frame A maybe of any suitable construc` 1;

tion; Inthe embodiment illustrated it includes 45 aplatform II) resting on three legs `I`I.- Extend` ing upwardly from platform I Il`are the standards l2,|3',fand I4.' The'standard I4fis closelyassociated with the features of the invention and will be described laterin greater detail; Atank I IIl ofis'supported upon the standards I2, I3," and III',v

and" may `contain vthe liquidfwith which the bot-k tl'esare to be filled.`

. Attaehedftol'tank .40 arenilel two :sets .of-ailier tubes --4 I' for Adispens-ing the 'liquid'intothe 'bot- These "tubes are of well kncewniconstru'c` 'tion and it need only besaid' here thattheyl are equippedi with suitable I springsv and valves-to dispensethe-Aliquid as'the top of a bottle: is pressed* up against-one of them. v'Intlie present'embodi-Q.

ment four tubesare'v usedgvbut any :number of tubes'fmaybe used. V e y Suitable capping mechanism 42fis also ate ytach'ed. to tank III)v and isf-'of construction .Well`l known lto the trade.V vIt is 1 sufiicient to" say j that this mechanism isarrangedtoplace caps on the 10e bottles'as they are pressed` up against it. In4

`this embodiment the capping mechanism-'caps clearly in Fig'.y 1 of'thevdrawings. The peculiar 25%' shape shown hasbeen found tov be particularly I desirable for vuse in connection with the bottle iilling and capping mechanisms in common use.

It may .be'seen thatthe'larger radii of thefcam are uniform between ypoints'ZI)v and 2|, so that all? the top surface of they cam remains atv its highest y, level `during one interval in its rotation.

y Above cam member B and within standardllll4 c is aplunger rod 22 which is equipped at its lowerend witha roll-er 23 which is adapted to contact 35i? the top surface of cam member B. At itstop end rod 22 is equipped with a transverse pin`2ll` which extends through slots-25 iny the Wallsfof standard I4. Theends of pin 24 are provided withf rollers 26 for; supporting the rotatable 46" sleeve 2'I.I j vz Sleevej21 has at its lupper end an in-turned flange 28 which restsk upon rollers 26. At vits lowenend isl an outWardly-.turned'ange 29.

lTable C is received over sleeve '2T and in its lo'WerA 45"" position rests against flange 29. f i

Tablel C may be of any suitable construction. In the *embodiment illustrated sockets*v 30 having drain holesa are provided for the accommo# y dation' of eight quartsized `milk-bottles. The 50 number andy size of the sockets, however; may be. varied Yas desired. Adjacent the hub of table C is an aperture 3| throughwhich pin 32 extends when thetable'fis in itsxlower'position. 'Pi'n"32j is "secured n-lvflange 29 ande."When'AV4` engaged 'with' The gear means for rotating table C comprises amutilated gear 36 which is mounted about standard I4 and is equipped with an upper tubular extension 36a, the walls of which are dis` posed between standard I4 and sleeve 21. Gearv 36 has teeth 3l which are discontinued at four places so as to provide four toothed sections. In gear 36 is an aperture 38 which receives the `lower extension 39 of pin 32 to secure the gear against rotation with respect to table C.

AnotherA mutilated gear 43 is mounted on shaft I9 towhich cam member `B is secured, and is in engagement with gear 36. Unlike gear 36,-gear 4,3.has only one toothed section. The toothed section of gear 43 is adapted to mesh with either toothed section of gear 36. The end tooth of gear 43 which is first to make engagement with the teeth of gear 35 and designated in the drawings by character M, maybe formed of rubber or otherv resilient material if so desired. Such construction has been found to aid in eliminating the shock of first engagement.

An electric motor 45, mounted on platform i0, is here provided for actuating the various parts :I of the device, though any source of power suitable for such a purpose might be utilized.

The shaft 45, leading from motor 45, is connected to gear 43 through a safety clutch arrangement shown more clearly in Fig. 2. The

.shaft 46 is secured to a toothed wheel 4l by means of clampsd. YWheel 41 containsa central bore 32 which holds dog Stand spring 5l within bore 53 of gear 43 may be removed and the clutchl VYof this gear will engage one of the toothed sec which receives the reduced end portion 49 of shaft I9. The teeth on wheel 41 are engaged by dog B which is pressed by spring 5l into engagement with the teeth of the wheel. The screw left to run free when sodesired.

To operate the device an operator may put an empty bottle in one of recesses 33 in table C and start the electric motor. The motor shaft 43 will turn in counterclockwise direction and through connection` of wheel 4l with dog 53 will turn gear 43 in counterclockwise direction. At every revolution of gear 43 the toothed section tions of gear 33 to turn that gear one quarter turn. Table C, being rotatively secured to gear 35, is also turned one quarter revolution.

`Gear 43, being securedto shaft l5, also rotates *""the shaft and cam member B. The relation betweencam B and gears 36, and 43 is such that the cam operates to raise plunger 22 and consequently table C during the interval the teeth of the gears are not in engagement, so the cam operates to raise the table C during the intervals` `when it is not in motion.

The table C rotates one quarter revolution atk a movement and is so arranged that the empty bottle which has been placed on the table will be vstopped immediately underione of filler tubes 4i. Then, during the interval vthe table is not in motion, the cam B, operates to raise plunger 22 which causes the sleeve 27 and table C to ,be raised. The top of "the bottle impinges the filler `aV quarter revolution.

tube and through compression of a spring a valve the table and the top of the bottle impinges the filler tube and is this time completely filled. The cam B then turns to allow the table to again descend to its original position.

Upon another quarter revolution of the table the bottle is moved to a position directly under a capping mechanism. Here, as the table is again raised, a capis placed upon the bottle. After still another quarter revolution of the table the,

filled and capped bottle comes to its starting position where it may be removed and replaced with an empty bottle. y

ln the above `explanation of operation one bottle has-beeny followed through succeeding steps, but as .the machine is operated these `steps may take place concurrentlyjupon different bottles. Two bottles are being partly filled, two bottles are being completely filled, and two bottles are being capped as table C is being raised but once.

If smaller bottles are to be filled the table may be adjusted to accommodate the smaller bottles. vThis is accomplished by raising table C until4 pin 32 is removed from aperture 3l, then turning the table until pin 32 isover boss 33, and then allowing the pin to enter the bore 34, which position is'clearly shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings. This raises the table to the height as shown `in the lower set of dotted lines in Fig. l.

If still smaller bottles are desired to be used, the table may again be lifted to disengage pin 32 from boss 33, and the table turned so that pin 32vv will engage bore 35; This represents the position shown in the upper set of dotted lines in Fie. k1.

Should vanything go Wrong in the operation of the device so as to block the movement of the table, the dog 50 will disengage from the teeth of wheel 4l andwill allow the shaft 46 to rotate `Without causing rotation of gears .43 and 36.

Thus, the table rotating mechanism of `the ma` chine willbe" stopped if it should become jammed, and will not break any of its parts.

Several advantages are gained by providing two sets Io-f` filler tubes for lling the bottles in two steps. For one thing, the filling operation takes a longer time than does the capping operation', and by the bottles being filled at two stages simultaneously greater speed is accomplished. Perhaps a greater advantage lies in giving the foam or, bubbles `which appear after the first rapid discharge a chance to disappear before the bottleis Anally filled. vOtherwise the foam would cause thejmilk or other liquid to overflow before the bottle is completely full. Y.

Anotherv advantage lies in the ease with which this machine is operated. As two pairs of bottles are beinglled and one pair is being capped, the operator is removing the remaining pair of bottles, now lled, .and replacingthese with-empty bottles. The operator need not move from place to place instarting and removing bottles, nor

does he need'to wait for successive steps inthe l operation to take place.

While we have shown fgear 36 provided with four'v toothed sections, it will be understood that these sections will vary in number and extent as required, by the size and capacity of themachine. .y

should be construed as broadly as permissible,

in view of the prior art.

We claim: l 1. In a device of the character set forth, a

frame including an upright standard, a'. table' rotatable about said standard and adapted tocarry containers thereon, mechanism for intermittently rotating said table, said mechanism including la gear rotatably mounted on said standard and adapted to remain in fixed vertical position andincluding also means for connecting said gear in rotational relation with said table,

and means for intermittently raising and lowerf ing said table.

2. In a device of the character set forth, va l frame including an upright tubular standard, a

shaft journaled in said` frameand equipped withA a cam, a plunger within said standard and resting upon said cam so as to be raised and lowered as said shaft is rotated, a table rotatable about said standard and movable'vertically of said standard, means connecting said. plunger and table for raising said' table when saidplunger is raised, a gear rotatably mounted about Said standard and in drive relation withsaid table,ksaid gear being adapted to remain in xed'zvertical position on said standard, and means for intermittently rotating said gear whereby said table is given intermittent rotational'y movement.

3. In a device of the character f set forth, a frame including 'an upright tubular standard, a shaft journaled in said frame `and equipped with a cam, a plunger resting on said cam and extending upwardly within said standard, a table `rotatably carried by said plunger and adapted to move.

vertically of said standard uponl actuation of said plunger by saidcam, a mutilated gear iny The foregoing ldetailed descriptionv relative levels.

xed vertical position in said frame and adapted i to rotate about a substantially vertical axis, said gear being indrive relation with said table, a

second mutilated gear driven by said shaft yand in engagement withv said first mentioned gear,`

and means for continuously rotating said shaft.

, 4. In 'a device ofthe character set forth, a

frame including an upright tubular standard,` a

shaft journaled in said frame and equipped with a cam, a plunger resting on said cam and extend'- ing upwardly Within said standard,` said plunger being adapted to reciprocate vertically-as said shaft is rotated, a'table rotatably supported on said plunger and adapted to move vertically with said plunger, a mutilated gear rotatabl'efabout a vertical axis'and in 'drive connection with said table, drive means for actuating said gear to ,produce intermittent rotation' of said table, clutch means for enabling release of said drive means,v

said drive Ameans including a secondmutilated gear normally vin drive relation with said shaft, saidy clutch vmeans including a toothed gear secure upon said shaft, and a spring-pressed plunger in said secondgear, saidkplunger'being in re- .'silient engagement with said toothed gear.

5. In a device` ofithe character set forth, av

frame including .an upright tubular, standard, a

Vshaftjourn'aledin said frame and equipped with a cam, a plunger extending within' said standf ard and resting upon said cam soas -to be raised and lowered as said shaft isrotated, a table roy tically of vsaid standard, said table being equipped with a `table-carrying member by which the table is carried at different relative levels, a gear rotending through said gear and into said table for connecting `said table and gearr inv drive relation,

said table` is 'equipped with at least two sockets and in which sa1d pin is adapted to engage one of said sockets to. maintain said table at one of said ,relativek levels andto engage the `other of said sockets-tomaintain said table at another of said CARL A NAMUR ltatable about said standard and movable ver- -tatablymounted about said standard, a pin eX- I CHARLES M; ANDERSON. ,o 

